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Former mayoral candidate, wife arrested for bogus 911 calls

DA: More than 100 calls traced to A.J. Richardson's home, family members' cellphones

Updated: 8:14 PM EDT Apr 4, 2014

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A.J. Richardson

Former mayoral candidate, wife arrested for bogus 911 calls

DA: More than 100 calls traced to A.J. Richardson's home, family members' cellphones

Updated: 8:14 PM EDT Apr 4, 2014

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PITTSBURGH —

A former Pittsburgh mayoral candidate and his wife were arrested Friday for allegedly making dozens of bogus 911 calls.

Investigators have traced more than 100 bogus 911 calls to the home of Pittsburgh community activist Abdula Jamal "A.J." Richardson or his family members' cellphones in what the county prosecutor said Friday is a ruse to make it appear that city police have it in for the man.

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Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. filed a court motion claiming Richardson, 37, hopes to use the ongoing dispute as evidence of police bias against him when he stands trial later this year in an assault and burglary case.

"By repeatedly engaging in the abuse of the 911 system, these two defendants potentially compromised the safety of other residents by needlessly occupying the time of police officers who were subsequently not available to respond to legitimate emergencies," spokesman Mike Manko wrote in a statement.

Richardson has contacted media outlets to claim he and his family haven't made the 911 calls in recent weeks, and to complain that police are abrasive and rude when they respond.

Zappala contends Richardson apparently plans to argue at trial that the pending criminal charges resulted from police animus, not wrongdoing on his part. Zappala wants County Judge Anthony Mariani to bar Richardson from introducing any testimony or argument of alleged police bias when the trial begins May 12.

According to a criminal complaint, Richardson berated the officers -- all of whom, like Richardson, are black -- for being "subservient to the white man." He also made a public statement calling the charges a "feeble attempt to discredit me" before issuing an apology hours later and saying he planned to plead guilty.

Richardson did just that in October, and was ordered to serve four days in the county's so-called "DUI hotel" -- an alternative to jail program -- pay a $1,000 fine and spend six months on probation.

In the pending case, Richardson is accused of entering a neighbor's home without permission on Sept. 3, yelling at the man and poking him under the eye, before running away.

Police said Richardson appeared to be drunk, refused to answer their questions and was combative with them.

Walker, the defense attorney, has called the incident a disagreement that got out of hand.